Page 30 of Vying Girls (Girls of Hazelhurst #2)

Tilda

‘This is wild,’ Elly says, gawping at the devastation all around us.

The sunny, windless day seems incongruous against a backdrop of fallen trees and debris. A few lampposts are toppled across the path, marked by orange cones. Farther out, one of the lakes has flooded, with rumours of a student evacuation. Thank God we live on the other side.

They named the storm Harriet in the end, something our Harriet is acting like it’s a personal homage to her. I shake my head with a smile. It’s the little things with her.

‘I might get a pine tree tattoo or something,’ Elly muses, pursing her lips. I pull her out the way of a flashing service truck as it works to reset all the damage.

I nod in approval. ‘Can’t go wrong with that.’

The trip to the tattoo parlour had been Elly’s idea. Turns out it’s a tradition of hers to get a small, silly piece every Friday 13 th , but since that fell on the day of the storm, we had to make do with today. My last tattoo was yonks ago so I’m more than happy to tag along.

Attached to Vipers, it’s a squat, graffitied building that seems so out of place with the castle backdrop. It’s rammed today, full of people with the same idea as us, allowing us time to peruse the laminated menus they’ve made for the occasion.

Elly looks around, still pondering her design. ‘Hm. Not very random though, is it?’

‘That’ll make it random.’ I nod to the gumball machine in the corner.

‘That’s a shout.’ She stands and heads over to it, rifling in her pocket for change.

I admire her casualness when it comes to tattoos. Couldn’t be me though. Every one I have follows a similar aesthetic, tells a similar story. Suppose that helps with the choosing. Not that I’m any closer to picking one now that I’m here.

Elly returns waving a little plastic ball.

‘What have you got?’ I scoot closer to her on the bench.

She cracks it open and unfolds the paper inside. It’s a tiny kawaii frog, a wizard hat perched on its head.

‘Fucking mint,’ she says with a grin.

‘Aw, I love it,’ I laugh. ‘It’s adorbs.’

‘Yeah? Could get a matching one.’

‘Not really my style. But maybe a toad. All warty and creepy.’

‘You’re creepy.’ Still smiling, she kisses my cheek. ‘In all the best ways.’

She’s the first to be called into one of the curtained rooms, the buzzing of tattoo guns persistent behind them. I relinquish my seat to peruse the walls of designs, not finding anything I fancy in the Friday 13 th collection.

‘You here with Elly or getting one yourself?’

I turn to see Skylar loitering against a pillar bedecked in stickers. She looks dressed for a night at the Vaults in fishnets, shorts and a black top adorned with a tonne of metal buckles. Can’t lie, I kind of dig it.

‘I’m getting one too.’

‘Cool. I’ll do you now if you want.’

‘Oh, well, I’ve not picked yet.’

‘No worries.’ She pushes off the pillar. ‘We can do that.’

She waves me through to a room, hopping onto the stool there. She’s like a little goth pixie as she swings her legs—the true kind, mischievous and manipulative and out to prank.

‘What vibe you going for? Tilda, right?’

‘Right. And I don’t know. Something like my others.’ I put a finger to where my moth tattoo is. ‘Something to do with nature. Spooky nature.’

‘Spooky nature.’ She smiles, the ink of her face shifting. So brave, having tats like that. ‘My speciality, I’d say. What have you got already?’

I give her a quick rundown, then she points me to her book of designs, the ones already used crossed out with a sharpie. Nice to know it’ll be an OOAK, whichever I choose.

Skylar swivels away from me, humming along to the rock music playing as she preps her equipment. My eyes flit between the book, the stickers and art tacked to every available space of wall, and Skylar herself.

She’s been with all three of them. I just can’t get it out of my mind. I’m not jealous, it’s not that. Maybe it’d be different if there were any feelings involved, but I know to my core that wasn’t the case, not for any of them.

She’s even been with Haz. That makes my heart pinch a bit. She’ll sleep with Skylar, but not me? Did Skylar have to prove herself first? Not likely.

I take a breath, focussing back on the book. Her work is so fucking good. It’s all my style, all of it. Crisp line work, dark shading. I love the deer skulls, the ones with flora wrapped around the horns. I turn the page. More flora, this time stuffed inside the eye sockets of skulls.

‘How you getting on?’ she asks over her shoulder.

‘Sorry. It’s all amazing.’

She hums out a chuckle. ‘Take your time.’

I thumb through a few more pages, narrowing it down to a rat and ivy tattoo, and a tapering serpent.

The next time I look up, it’s to Skylar staring. Her knees are bent to her chest, feet on the chair. She smiles.

‘Down for some girl chat?’

‘Um. Always?’

‘I’ve been wondering—what’s the deal with Nic and gang? And how the fuck did she smash up that room?’ She grins around the tablet pen she’s chewing on. ‘Most exciting night I’ve had in fuck knows.’

I smile, smoothing a palm over the book. ‘She got angry at me. What else is new?’

Skylar tilts her head. ‘Why?’

‘Because I’m her biggest fucking trigger.’

Skylar nods slowly. ‘Sweet.’

She looks down at the pen, flicking the top of it.

‘Babes, I don’t know you, don’t know Nic apart from her pussy, but I get vibes, yeah?

And it’s like you’re’—she crosses her fingers on both hands—‘you know? Every time I see you two, there’s this weird sizzling.

And I don’t mean pheromones, or whatever, but something.

Like heat above radiators. Or hot roads. ’

Something in me buzzes at her judgement. I nod, still quick to add, ‘It’s not like that with me and Nic. We go long back but…it’s different with Haz and Elly. That’s…yeah, that’s real.’

Skylar nods more empathetically this time. ‘They’re alright. Both of them. Good teachers if nothing else.’

I chuckle. ‘Yeah, plenty of that.’

She nods to the book. ‘Picked yet?’

‘The serpent, I think.’ I twist it round so she can see. ‘I’m thinking small, just above my boob.’

‘Alrighty. Let’s do it.’

I strip to my bra as she sorts the stencil.

My mind’s still on her comment. I guess with that much history behind me and Nic, it might be obvious to some.

There are definitely sparks igniting around us, even if they’re not the sexy kind.

There’s such a thing as negative chemistry.

I think. At least, there is now. It sums up me and Nic perfectly.

Skylar’s hair is shiny beneath the bright lights.

It’s tinted blue, like she dyed it that colour without lightening it first. I wonder what she’s like in bed.

Not in a pervy way, but comparatively. I get the vibe she likes it rough.

I know she likes it rough; I’ve heard it.

I bet she’s into all sorts. All those times she slept with Haz, I wonder what they did.

Just the size difference is almost enough to make me wince.

Haz could literally step on her by accident.

‘Alright.’ Skylar swivels on her stool to face me. ‘Get that hair up and sit up straight.’

I do as she says so she can apply the stencil. Once I’ve nodded my approval at its placement, she has me lie on the bench, the creaky leather reeking of antiseptic.

I close my eyes, listening to the tattoo guns in the air around us. I wonder how Elly’s getting on, if she’s in one of the rooms either side of this one.

‘Mind if I climb on up?’

I shake my head. Skylar’s light as a feather as she straddles me.

Never had this happen with my moth tattoo but I don’t mind.

There’s probably more awareness now than there would have been before.

Every girl I meet I’m looking at them differently.

Elly said that’ll pass once I’ve passed ‘baby gay’ status.

Haz said it never would and I’ll be perving forever.

I’m more inclined to go with Elly’s prediction.

It’s weird, but I can see Haz and Skylar together. It’s the matching dark aura they carry.

I eye her as she considers my stencil. ‘Hey. Can I ask you something? It’s weird so you can say no.’

‘I love weird. Shoot.’

‘It’s about Haz.’

‘Mm-hm. Want to compare notes?’

‘No…well, that’s just it. We haven’t…you know. Yet. She keeps…brushing me off.’

Skylar flicks her eyes to me. ‘Not got the parts she likes or something?’

I roll my eyes. ‘You’d think. I don’t get it either. I mean, you’ve been with her. You know what she likes.’ I let out a helpless breath. ‘Any advice would literally be so welcome.’

‘Damn.’ Skylar laughs, a high, musical sound. ‘First time someone’s coming to me for advice. Fuck. Well, I’ll tell you this much. When you do get to that point, make sure you try touching her. She fucking hates it.’

I frown. ‘Why would I try touching her if she hates it?’

‘So she’ll punish you. Duh. Now, stop talking for a sec.’

I take a breath as the gun starts up. I’ve already received one of Haz’s punishments.

I’m not about to touch her if she truly doesn’t like it, but maybe that’s her whole thing.

Drawing out the brat, manipulating it so I do misbehave, do procure punishment.

I mean, that’s definitely a thing, right?

I’ve not experienced that dynamic myself, but then I’ve never been with anyone as kinky as Haz.

If that can even be classed as kink. I don’t know.

Despite all the boys I’ve been with, we never did much more than missionary.

Closest I got to kink was with Ryan, and his version of that was just rough sex.

But we have to get to that point first. The pain from the needle tempers some of the frustration, but it still floods me like acid.

Even though it’s her denying me, she’s put the decision in my hands by telling Elly it’s because she doesn’t trust me to still want her afterwards. That it’s up to me to prove I will.